National Historic Landmark

Tiffany and Company Building

New York, New York County, New York
Listed
June 1, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
78001886

About this property

The Tiffany and Company Building, also known as the Tiffany Building and 401 Fifth Avenue, is an eight-story commercial building at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, United States. The structure was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. It was built from 1903 to 1905 as the flagship store of jewelry company Tiffany & Co. The building is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark. The Tiffany Building has a marble facade inspired by that of the Palazzo Grimani di San Luca in Venice. The facade is divided by large entablatures and cornices into three horizontal tiers; the lowest tier has square piers and rectangular openings, while the second and third tiers have round columns and arched openings. The Tiffany Building has a steel superstructure and a sloped metal roof that resembles a tiled roof. The interior originally comprised seven above-ground stories and two basement levels; a mezzanine was added above the first story in 1952. The basement contained a vault, the first six stories contained various departments of the store, and the seventh story was an exhibition space. The interiors were decorated with various woods, marbles, and Guastavino tiles, much of which has since been removed. Tiffany & Co.'s president Charles T. Cook developed the building, which cost $600,000 and opened on September 5, 1905. The Tiffany store prospered through the 1920s, but it suffered through the Great Depression. After the company moved to a new flagship store on 57th Street in 1940, the building was occupied by American Red Cross and Textron in the 1940s. Henry Goelet of the Goelet family acquired the building in 1951 and renovated the lower stories, while the upper stories were occupied by Allied Stores from 1950 to 1973. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church bought the Tiffany Building in 1977 and used it as a newspaper office. Following a failed plan in the late 1980s to build a tower above the Tiffany Building, the upper stories were used as television studios. The Stahl Real Estate Company bought the building in 2000 and renovated the lower stories.

Location

401 5th Ave.
New York, New York County, New York
40.74998, -73.98290

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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33rd Street Subway Station (IRT)
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Knox Building
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Nearby Battles

Battle of Kip's Bay
1776Revolutionary War
0.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Tiffany and Company Building listed on the National Register?

Tiffany and Company Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 1, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Tiffany and Company Building?

Tiffany and Company Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Tiffany and Company Building a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Tiffany and Company Building has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Tiffany and Company Building?

The period of significance for Tiffany and Company Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Tiffany and Company Building?

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